Whether you are writing your memoir, working with a memoir consultant to get it written, or still just thinking about it, there’s one concrete step you can take that is certain to get you a little bit closer to your goal – or, in fact, to any goal. Keep a journal. Write in it every day, if possible.
For years, I’ve been expounding on the many advantages of maintaining a daily writing habit. It’s something I do myself, and it’s something I ceaselessly encourage the participants in the writing groups I lead to do as well.
Why establish a daily writing habit? Because when you give voice to your ideas, fears, hopes, uncertainties, wishes, anxieties and passions, those words that might otherwise circle your mind fruitlessly will find release on the page.
Yes, you’ll get some memories recorded and some anecdotes preserved, but the benefits of taking time to turn your thoughts into words go beyond that. They include an increased sense of focus, calm and serenity as you approach the day.
When the pandemic began last March, the writing groups I lead at a local cooperative arts studio halted abruptly, and I started offering writing prompts through a Facebook group instead. As the group’s membership grew, I realized what a broad range of friends and acquaintances were exploring my suggestion that they do more writing. Some members of the Facebook group were participants in my writing classes, but others were relatives, colleagues, and long-time friends. Soon our group had over one hundred members and ranged in age from seventeen to eighty-three.
Earlier this fall I compiled my most popular and accessible exercises into a collection of “three-minute writing prompts.” They are designed such that some people might try out each one while others will browse for just the cues that set their imagination on fire. Whatever the approach, I’m hoping with this book to help more people explore their inner writer and realize the serenity, peace and personal fulfillment that come with regular journaling.
Click here to learn more about the book.
For years, I’ve been expounding on the many advantages of maintaining a daily writing habit. It’s something I do myself, and it’s something I ceaselessly encourage the participants in the writing groups I lead to do as well.
Why establish a daily writing habit? Because when you give voice to your ideas, fears, hopes, uncertainties, wishes, anxieties and passions, those words that might otherwise circle your mind fruitlessly will find release on the page.
Yes, you’ll get some memories recorded and some anecdotes preserved, but the benefits of taking time to turn your thoughts into words go beyond that. They include an increased sense of focus, calm and serenity as you approach the day.
When the pandemic began last March, the writing groups I lead at a local cooperative arts studio halted abruptly, and I started offering writing prompts through a Facebook group instead. As the group’s membership grew, I realized what a broad range of friends and acquaintances were exploring my suggestion that they do more writing. Some members of the Facebook group were participants in my writing classes, but others were relatives, colleagues, and long-time friends. Soon our group had over one hundred members and ranged in age from seventeen to eighty-three.
Earlier this fall I compiled my most popular and accessible exercises into a collection of “three-minute writing prompts.” They are designed such that some people might try out each one while others will browse for just the cues that set their imagination on fire. Whatever the approach, I’m hoping with this book to help more people explore their inner writer and realize the serenity, peace and personal fulfillment that come with regular journaling.
Click here to learn more about the book.
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